


Worry Yourself Sick

by Wolfcry22



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Appendicitis, Brotherly Love, Canon Compliant, Coughing, Fever, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hospitals, Protective Dean Winchester, Sick Character, Sick Dean Winchester, Sick Sam Winchester, Sneezing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:15:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24845905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolfcry22/pseuds/Wolfcry22
Summary: Sam is in the hospital for some kind of surgery or something and Dean is keeping an all day, all night vigil by his side until he wakes up. Dean eventually worries himself into a heck of a cold and the nurses start bringing him things like tissues and cough drops and a blanket and soup from the cafeteria because they know he won't leave.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 41





	Worry Yourself Sick

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Fathers Day everyone! I also want to wish a Happy Father’s Day to those that have lost a father or have strained father relationships. I know how hard that this holiday can be for you and really all holidays. If that’s you I hope that this story is just something to brighten your day. It can be the little things to get you through.
> 
> Warning for slightly mentions of vomiting in the first couple paragraphs. (Story can take place really at any point in the series)

"Are you sure that it's appendicitis," Dean asked as he ran after Sam, who was on a stretcher. They had brought him in by ambulance after he had collapsed, vomited, and then passed out at a local diner. After Dean couldn't rouse him he finally yelled at someone to call 911. 

Now they were in some hospital in Ohio and he was freaking out. All he wanted was for Sam to be okay, but he wasn't sure that he was going to be.

"Can you help him," Dean exclaimed. 

A nurse rushed up and started to check Sam's vitals. She frowned, clearly not liking what she saw. "He's going into shock. It must have ruptured. We need an OR stat!"

Dean's face fell. "Wait, what does that mean?" 

The nurse suddenly halted and pushed her hands against his chest as they wheeled Sam into a separate wing of the hospital. "I'm sorry, but you can't go with him!" 

Dean struggled to look through the windows to see where they were taking his brother. His mouth went completely dry as tears almost streamed down his face. One minute Sam had been talking to him and saying that he ate too much and the next second he was in a hospital.

"I'll take you to our waiting area and as soon as he's out of surgery we'll come and get you," the nurse offered as she half led, half dragged Dean toward the waiting area. 

"Surgery," he croaked.

She forced him onto a chair and began to explain where the bathroom, cafeteria, and 'quiet room' was. Dean doubted that he was going to leave this chair until he knew that Sam was okay. He was supposed to take care of Sam and he couldn't if Sam wasn't in his sights. He couldn't if Sam was in surgery. He couldn't protect Sam right now and it was killing him. 

He sat in the chair and leaned forward, just running his fingers through his hair and doing something that he hadn't done in a long time: prayed. 

Dean wasn't sure how long he had sat there. But, eventually a hand rubbed his shoulder. He looked up and blinked his bloodshot eyes at the nurse that had talked to him earlier.

"Dean Williams?" 

Dean nodded slowly. "Yes," he coughed. 

"I'm nurse Melanie Pine, but you can call me Melanie. Your brother is out of surgery if you'd like to see him," she offered with a smile on her face.

Dean was on his feet in a minute, nodding vigorously since he couldn't speak. She flicked her hand and tightened her grip on the stethoscope before she led him to one of the hospital rooms. Sure enough, Sam was laying there with a oxygen mask over his face and IV's in his arms. He looked extremely pale and almost dead. 

"Is he-"

"He's fine. He's just in a little bit of a coma. It was a pretty nasty surgery," Melanie explained gently.

Dean brought up a chair and sat beside him, grabbing his brother’s hand. "But, he's going to be alright, right?"

Melanie smiled. "Yeah, he'll be fine," she replied as she walked toward the door. "Just call if you need anything."

Dean ignored her. He wasn't trying to be rude and she was very beautiful, but Sam's health and wellbeing came first. Tears showed in his eyes as he gripped Sam's limp hand and held it tight. 

"Come back to me, Sammy, please," Dean begged as he brought the hand to his forehead, trying to feel Sam somewhere in there. All he felt was coldness and emptiness. But, Sam had to come back to him. They fought monsters for a living. Appendicitis couldn't take him out. 

Dean coughed again and felt his throat almost scratch. He shook his head in surprise before he rubbed his other hand against his forehead. He knew this feeling, but he wasn't sure why he was getting it. He had been sick less than a month ago; he shouldn't have the feeling now. He shook his head to clear it. 

No, that's not what it was. 

It couldn't be. 

He swallowed his fear as he continued to rub his thumbs over Sam's calloused hand. He sighed heavily, feeling tiredness wash over him. He closed his eyes before he leaned back in the chair without loosening the grasp on Sam’s hand. He yawned, his eyes closing as he drifted off into a pained sleep. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"HtecHshssh!"

Dean jolted away, throwing himself forward. He dropped Sam's hand before he realized that he was awake. He grumbled as he felt congestion filling his nose. 

Dean lifted a hand and rubbed blearily at it, stealing a glance over at Sam. He was clearly still asleep. His sneeze hadn't woken up. 

He brushed a hand under his nose to quell the steady stream. He still had Sam's hand clutched tightly with his other hand. He squeezed it gingerly, praying that Sam would squeeze it back. He waited a few seconds before he released his hand and coughed into a raised fist. He grimaced at the sound of it. Dean looked back over to Sam, leaning forward to whisper something to Sam and hoping that he could hear him.

"I'm not feeling too hot, Sammy. I think you scared me half to death and now everything is catching up with me," he confessed as he looked at his still brother. "But, I'm not going anywhere, I promise. I'll be here when you wake up." 

There was a knock at the door. Dean turned and saw Melanie standing there. "I'm sorry. Did I interrupt something?"

Dean swallowed a cough and shook his head. "No, it's okay. Do you need something?"

"I have some more pain meds for Sam; if that's alright with you? I know that not everyone is alright with it," Melanie explained as she smiled timidly. 

Dean thought for a moment before he shook his head once more. "If you think that it'll help Sam, then it's okay with me."

Melanie smiled as she walked over to lifted Sam's IV. She brought out a small vial of morphine. She injected it in, but there was still no change in Sam's demeanor. Dean wished that he might have jolted awake from the taste he always said he got when injected with morphine. However, that wasn’t the case.

Melanie looked over and smiled shyly. "It's alright. He wouldn't just wake up," Melanie told him gently, tossing the used vial in the trash. "But, he will eventually. Don't worry. I can tell he’s a fighter. He’ll pull through.”

Dean nodded, unable to contain the coughs anymore. He bowed his head and started to cough painfully into the raised crook of his arm, tears catching in the corner of his eyes. He lifted a hand and started to rub the tears away.

"Dean, are you okay," Melanie asked as she rested a hand on Dean's shoulder.

Dean straightened and shrugged her off. "Fine. I'm sure that it's just something in my throat," he replied with a small smile. 

Melanie smiled wryly before she tapped her foot against the ground. "If you say so. If you need anything, just let me know."

She headed out of the room without another word.

That left Dean fearful as he sat back in the seat and grabbed Sam's hand once more. He tightened his grip and hummed to himself. "Do you remember when we were little and I used to read to you? You wouldn't go to sleep unless you had a story. I used to read the same story about ten times to you a night. I always grouched against it, but I actally enjoyed doing it. There's nothing better than seeing that look in your eye when I finished each time. I'd really like to see that look on your face again; so why don't you wake up for me, Sammy? Just open your eyes. Please, open your eyes."

Sam made no motion to do that.

Dean sighed heavily. "I guess this is still going to be a one sided conversation, huh? Well, that's okay. I'm sure that we'll figure it out like we always do."

"HetCshsh!"

"Bless you! You sure that you're okay?"

Dean spiraled around with Melanie standing there. He ran his wrist under his helplessly runny nose before he sniffled. "Um, yeah, I'm fine."

"Uh huh," Melanie started, coming over to Dean's side. She took out a thermometer from the pocket of her scrubs and showed it to him. "If you're fine, then this should be 98.6. Go on, humor me."

Dean took the thermometer from her and stuck it under his tongue. He held it there, painfully aware that Melanie was staring him down. He nearly jumped when it finally beeped. Melanie reached over and took it out from under his tongue. She flicked it a few times before she read it. "101. Looks like someone has a fever. You know what that means?" 

"Nope," Dean replied dumbly.

Melanie rolled her eyes. "That's not what I was going to say. I meant that you can't be here. Sam is susceptible to any illness right now." 

"I know. Can you give me something to take or whatever or something I have to wear and I’ll do it? I just can't leave him. If he wakes up and I'm not there then he'll freak out and then I'll freak out," Dean explained as he smiled at her pleadingly. 

"We really, really shouldn't let anyone who’s sick stay," Melanie argued.

Dean looked at her with round eyes. "Just let me stay. I'll do whatever you want, but let me stay. Let me stay with my brother."

"I'll see what I can do, but you have to be careful and don't let anyone else get wind of it," Melanie told him as she looked toward the door. "I'll be back with some stuff that I need you to take and I need you to wash your hands regularly, cover your mouth with your arm when you cough and sneeze, and just try not to breathe on him. Understand?"

Dean thought for a moment before he nodded vigorously. He absolutely couldn't let them take him away from Sam. He was sure that Sam would be okay when he woke up, but Dean himself couldn't focus if he knew that Sam was alone in a hospital like this. He would do absolutely anything to make sure that didn’t happen. 

"I understand," Dean told her before he bucked forward almost without warning. "HetcshHsh! HetcshsH! Hetchshs!"  
  
"Bless you," Melanie sighed as she loomed at the entrance. "Wash your hands."

Dean would've snapped at her or flirted with her if this had been any other time. Instead, he listened to her. He headed to the small sink in the corner of the hospital room and washed his hands thoroughly with scorching hot water and nearly five pumps of soap. He dried his hands on his jeans when he was finished before coming back to Sam's bed. He took Sam's hand once more, driving a wet, hacking cough into his other shoulder. 

"You worried me something good, Sammy. I'll get you back for that when you wake up," he joked as he squeezed Sam's hand fiercely. 

It wasn't five minutes later that the door opened again. Dean turned in his seat and saw Melanie again. "Is it time for Sam's meds again," he asked.

Melanie shook her head, pulling out a box of tissues from a Walmart bag and setting them on Sam's bed, right by Dean's hands. "Actually, those are for you. The ones in here are very rough, so I thought you might like those."

Dean dipped his head. "Thank you." 

"Don't mention it. Trust me, your brother will thank you for not getting him sick," she pointed out as she stuck her hands into her pockets, pulling out a packet of Tylenol Cold & Flu. “Take these two.”

Dean took them from her outstretched hand, ripping the plastic bag open easily. He tossed them into the back of his throat and swallowed without the aid of water. 

“Thanks,” Dean snuffled.

Melanie dipped her head and rocked back and forth on the heels of her feet. "Do you need anything else?"

"I think that you've done quite enough for Sammy and I. Thank you, Melanie," Dean rasped as coughed bubbled up from his chest again. This time he caught the coughs completely in his elbow and away from her and Sam.

She waited until he was finished before she nodded. "No problem. Just page me if you need anything," she told him as she headed back to the door. 

"She's cute, isn't she, Sammy. I think that she's more your type though: nerds," Dean whispered in Sam's ear. He drew back as he coughed again, feeling his chest nearly convulse with each breath. He squinted his eyes together, panting heavily. "This sucks, Sam. It's a good thing you're not awake for it." 

"HetcshsH! Hetcshs! HtcshsH!"

Dean sniffled pathetically, sniffling like mad. "Yeah, see," he mumbled before he pulled a handful of tissues from the box and blew his nose loudly. Once he was finished, he coughed once more and sat back as he started at his Sam. 

He laid back, arms folded over his chest in the uncomfortable hospital chair, before he drifted off, snoring loudly with his mouth open. He finally jolted awake when he heard the door close. It took him a few moments before he realized where he was. He looked over at Sam, expecting him to move. When he didn't, Dean laid back and sighed. 

He went to grab more tissues, quickly realizing that there was steaming soup on a small bedside table. He could tell it was chicken noodle by the chunks of meat and thick noodles floating in the steamy broth. It wasn't his favorite, but it was better than nothing. Besides, he hadn't eaten since Sam had gotten there and he really wasn't that hungry since he was sick. But, he ignored that when he started to eat it. When he was finished, he leaned back, sniffling and shivering.

The door opened again as Melanie came forward. She nodded at Dean respectfully. She then checked Sam's pulse and blood pressure again. She nodded hopefully. "I think that he should wake up soon," she told him as she straightened. "He's blood pressure is stabilized and his pulse is normal. They're all very, very good signs." 

"I just hope that he's okay when he wakes up," Dean sighed as he stuck his hands into his pockets, coughing loudly into his shoulder.

"He should be a little out of it and tired, but he'll still be your brother," Melanie explained. "He may not remember what happened so you might need to fill him in. Once he wakes up he'll be here for a few more days before he's officially discharged and he'll have instructions as to what he should do to help the pain and whatnot. Don't worry; it'll be written down."

Dean nodded slowly. "Gee, thanks, Melanie. HutchsH! Hutchsh! Hutchsh HtcshsH!" 

"Goodness gracious, bless you," Melanie explained as she watched him grab a handful of tissues and blow his nose with a noisy gurgle. She ignored the sound as she headed to one of the cabinets and pulled out a blanket. She wordless draped it over his shoulders and, despite himself, Dean snuggled into it. "That better?"

Dean felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment. "That's more than enough. Thank you.”

"No problem. Just do me a favor and wash your hands again. Once again, germs," she told him as she spread her own fingers and wiggled them. "And again, don't hesitate to call if you need anything."

Dean nodded and got up to wash his hands while Melanie left the room. While Dean was drying his hands he heard a small moan. He immediately rushed back to his brother's side and saw him moving his head back and forth, trying to rouse himself. He lifted a hand and pawed at the oxygen mask. 

Dean stretched out his hands and grasped his brother's wrist, trying to hold him down. "Hey, hey, easy, easy," Dean chided before he twisted to sneeze over his shoulder. 

"Htchshs! HtcshsH!! Hutcshsh!"

That snapped Sam's attention over to Dean. His eyes blinked madly before he pulled down the oxygen mask. "D'n?"

"Yeah, it's me," Dean told him, sniffling thickly. "And you're okay, but you have to keep that mask on. You had appendicitis and it ruptured so they had to do emergency surgery. Are you okay?" 

Sam nodded when Dean put back on the mask. His breath billowed against the sides as he panted heavily. "But, you're not," he mumbled through the mask.

"What are you talking about? I'm peachy," he exclaimed.

Sam shot him a look. "You're sick."

Dean sighed as he sat back and took Sam's hand so that he didn't try to pull at his IV or the oxygen mask. He still seemed a little twitchy. "Yeah, just a bit. But, so are you."

"What are we going to do," asked Sam a bit panicked. 

"Everything that we always do. We'll get through it, just like always," reassured Dean as he nodded at his brother.

Sam took in a heavy breath through the mask. "Dean, will you sit with me," Sam pleaded as he patted the small space on the bed beside him gently.

Dean looked back at the door before he shrugged. "Melanie probably wouldn't like it, but why not," he grunted as he kicked off his boots and sat next to his brother, laying down to the best of his ability with his hands poised on his chest. 

They laid there for a bit until Sam narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Who's Melanie?" 

Silence. 

"Dean," Sam asked again. 

Suddenly, the sound of snores echoed throughout the hospital room. Sam craned his head around to look at Dean. He saw his brother laying as sprawled out as he possibly could on the small hospital bed, breathing loudly through his mouth since his nose was so clogged with congestion.

Sam snickered before he closed his own eyes and let out a tired breath. "Goodnight, Dean."

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this little one shot. It’s not my best work, but I’ve been having a rough time these last few days and I just wanted to right something. My birthday is coming up and I’m not looking forward to it. To everyone else having a hard time keep hanging in there. That’s what I’m going to do. Take it one day at a time and relish in the little things because those will get you through.


End file.
